This proposal requests $1 million to renovate two floors of the Walton Research Building at the Medical University of South Carolina. The objective is to provide an outstanding environment for research and research training in sensory neuroscience and the pathogenesis of age- related declines in sensory function. Specific aims are to: (1) Provide centralized, state-of-the-art research facilities conducive to increasing interaction, efficiency, and productivity among members of MUSC's sensory neuroscience research program, (2) Provide state-of-the-art research laboratories to support recruitment of additional program faculty to enhance and diversity expertise in molecular biology and genetics, cell and membrane physiology, and cognitive neuroscience, (3) Update a significant portion of a strategically located research building that is structurally sound and aesthetically notable to help meet current and future needs for biomedical research facilities, (4) Accelerate progress toward MUSC's goal to be a center of excellence in neuroscience research, with emphasis on age-related declines in neurosensory function. The research addresses national priorities in the areas of aging and hearing impairment. The beneficiaries are an outstanding group of thirteen NIH-supported faculty members. The grant will make it possible to create space for three new faculty, whose recruitment is critical to program expansion. Additional beneficiaries include students, postdoctoral fellows, and a multi-disciplinary group of collaborators and consultants. The Principal Investigator is Associate Provost for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies; she also is an NIH-funded investigator. Total project cost is $2, 181,543, of which the university's share is 54%.